Kingdom Hearts: Reflection
by Xiana Asuka
Summary: [aku.roku.nami] What if Axel, Roxas, and Naminé were on the Destiny Islands instead of Sora, Riku, and Kairi?
1. Prologue: Is it a dream?

_**Kingdom Hearts: Reflection**_

Summary: What if Naminé, Axel, and Roxas were on the Destiny Islands instead of Sora, Riku, and Kairi?

Disclaimer: Wouldn't it be cool if I could own it? Maybe… Ya know, it might actually be better to just, like, rent it for the day, or something.

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Xiana: Okay now, this is a story I came up with on my own. I'm sorry if someone else had the same idea, but the truth is, I've never seen this out here before. All I ask is that you read it and judge it fairly. So… here we go. The prologue.

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_I've been having some peculiar thoughts recently. I've been wondering if any of this is real. And in the end, all I can think is… Is it?_

- - -

It felt as if I was sinking, suspended within the deepest reaches of the ocean. And while I knew in my soul that this was just another one of "those dreams," the smooth whisper of the water and the trickling stream of bubbles rushing up past my ears impelled me to open my eyes, to survey the opaque, inky sea enclosing me, to glimpse thousands of phosphorescent particles drifting towards the surface, to break free from the all-encompassing, boundless depths of the ocean to wing away on an endless journey to an unknown destination. An undercurrent towed me away, and gritty sand dug its way into the pliant skin of my cheek and palms. I pushed myself up, throwing my sodden hair back with a shower of misty droplets reflecting the light of the crescent moon, and gasped for air with the power of a maelstrom churning over a turbulent night sea.

Crouching on the desolate beach, I watched the waves roll up to skim over me, unable to soak still farther into my already-saturated garment, a robe deep as shadow. I stood to find two similarly dressed figures standing in front of me, regarding me somberly. Their gloved hands were clasped tightly together, and as I focused my gaze still further, they levitated forward, the shorter of the two silhouetted in the curve of the moon, and each outstretched a hand to me imploringly. I took half a step forward, then another, and now I was pounding through the surf, flitting on top of the water, leaping over the ethereal, half-formed waves rushing on towards the foamed shores.

They hastened towards me as well, but sank beneath the ocean mockingly as I reached forward, barely grazing the edge of a billowing sleeve. Undeterred, I sprang off the curtain of the water, arcing through the air in a flawless dive. I shoved my way through the water, legs churning, arms grasping, my body throwing aside the marine barrier. I was completely unconcerned for my own health, despite the fact that this dream was the most realistic of all those I'd had previously, so much so that I could almost believe that I had, in my haste, scraped against the sandpaper scales of an oceanic fish. The side of my hand almost recoiled in pain, but I continuing paddling downwards until I was overcome by the besieging black of utter hopelessness and sank into its hauntingly destructive melody.

- - -

Light. Brilliance gleamed around me. I woke to find myself on a circular platform, which shone with the gleam of an unearthly stained glass window glimmering its farewell to the setting sun. I wandered to the edge to look over internal darkness.

'_You should not have given in.' _This disembodied voice was chiding, reproachful, but gentle. _'If even you cannot resist the lure of the dark, what hope have we?' _A biting wind snapped through, shattering the terrain and plunging me back into the night.

- - -

When I woke again, I found myself on another platform, similar to the first, reflecting the deep flush of a rose's center instead of a tribute to fading light. Three stone pedestals appeared, each containing a shining force.

'_Which will you choose?'_ The central column shimmered. _'A warrior's soul is valiant, but can that redeem his sins?' _The pillar on the left glittered. _'A defender can protect, but can also push away. Do you want to remain alone?'_ The final pedestal sparkled. _'The magician's path is a lofty one, and many people will respect you. Many more will want to destroy you as something they don't understand. Will you risk it?'_

I hesitantly approached the second column. _'The path of the defender? Your path may be hard, and may not end in happiness. Will you accept this?'_

"I will." The words rang out and the two cloaked figures from earlier blinked into existence. The taller of the two claimed the power of the central pillar, while the other took the power of magic.

'_And now, which power will you choose to give up?' _The faceless strangers turned to me. "I… I… th… that one." I held out a shaking finger to point to the taller one. Slowly, he reached out to mockingly repeat my gesture. The other stood impassively, making no move towards me or the other.

"I will not surrender either. Both are of great importance to me."

'_Then you shall lose both.'_

The light of the platform dimmed, and then flashed brighter than before, so that I was forced to shield my eyes from the increasing luminescence. The only thing remaining was a huge door, covered with ornate carvings and designs. I warily approached the center, pressing gently on the door so that it swung slightly ajar. Before I had the chance to peer through to its boundless depths, the voice admonished me gently. _'Isn't there something else that you should be doing?'_

I spun to see a black creature with eyes glowing with citrine fire and sneaking antennae rising from the glowing landscape. Furious at this marring of beauty, I charged forward, realizing only after I had smashed the monstrosity with it that I was holding a long staff in my hands. I looked around, only to see more of the same demons appear. They all rushed me at once.

I threw my hands up futilely, and as I did so, an opaque bubble formed around me. The first monster bounded into it before retreating shakily and toppling over, dead. My barrier faltered, and the beasts prepared for a second onslaught. I was going to die.

But then my tall friend from before, the warrior, slammed a long, curving sword into their midst. Tendrils of dark matter flew off as he readied himself for a long battle. The other floated down beside him, holding a curved rod, with strange knots of wood sticking out at various angles. Together, we forced the creatures away. They sank deep into the ground, which was suddenly no longer supporting me. The tall one caught my hand and tugged me away from the fall to oblivion, but before long, we were confined to a small position of the platform directly beside the door.

'_Go ahead.'_ We obeyed instantly. The door clicked behind me, and we now found ourselves on a dynamic blue column rising from the sea floor. Waves crashed all around, and a gleaming stairway of glassy tiles came into existence, winding upwards to a second pillar.

"Should we go?"

"Yes."

I took the smaller figure's hand, as did the other. We rushed up the staircase, pausing when we reached the top. The moon shone with a bleak ferocity before a huge shadow rose from the center, where the light was strongest. _'The closer you get to light…'_

"The greater your shadow becomes." I turned to face the one who had spoken.

"Now… we fight!" Together, the three of us rushed at the fiend, who snapped his fingers unconcernedly. Our weapons vanished, and we slumped helplessly to the floor. He approached us ominously, but we disappeared in a transcendent flash of silver. _'Don't be afraid.'_

'_You are the ones who will open the door.'_

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Xiana: That was the prologue. I hope you liked it! Please review, and my lovely beta friends will get the first chapter fixed up soon!


	2. Within Destiny's Grasp, pt 1

_**Kingdom Hearts: Reflection**_

Summary: What if Naminé, Axel, and Roxas were on the Destiny Islands instead of Sora, Riku, and Kairi?

Disclaimer: Wouldn't it be cool if I could own it? Maybe… Ya know, it might actually be better to just, like, rent it for the day, or something.

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Xiana: Here's the first real chapter. I hope that you guys like it…

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**Within Destiny's Grasp (Part 1)**

"Hey, wake up! You aren't going to sleep all day, are you, Mina?"

I rolled forward, dangling my feet in the water. "I wasn't asleep, Roxas!" I yawned, and turned to look Roxas over. He was using a blue shirt that was the very color of the sky, but these hues paled in comparison to his sapphire eyes, huge crystal orbs that reflected the light of the bright island sun. He ran a hand absently through his dirty-blond hair, patting down some of the spikes, which sprang right back up. "I was just thinking about this dream I had last night. It was pretty weird."

He smiled at me, flashing straight white teeth. "I've had some strange dreams lately too." He flopped down beside me in the sand. "So, we going to work on our raft today, Min?"

"I hope _I'm_ included in that!" came a cheerful voice. Axel was the tallest of us all, standing at over 5'5". Today he was wearing a yellow shirt with baggy brown pants. "So why don't we get some materials for our ship together, and then meet back here? Last one to the arena gets the logs!"

We all sprinted forward together. I barely passed Axel at the last moment, and Roxas got there last. "Tough luck, Rox!" we smiled, each placing an arm around his shoulders.

Roxas scowled, thin yellow brows pressing down hard on narrowed cobalt eyes. "Well, fine! That's what I wanted to do anyway!"

"Now that's the manly Roxas we know and love," Axel teased, resting his head on Roxas' shoulder.

"…Grr…" Roxas' expression changed to one even more filled with rage, if such a thing was possible. He swung a tightly clenched fist at Axel's shoulder, but Axel knew what was coming and had quickly sidestepped the blow.

"Oh, so you want to fight now, Roxas?" Axel wondered. Roxas snarled something and lunged at Axel. I grabbed Roxas' fist and hauled him backwards.

"Hey, Roxas, shouldn't you be saving some of that energy for our big duel against those three tomorrow? You've been looking forward to it all moon, right?" I reminded him once he had been safely restrained. He turned his piercing glare on me before averting his gaze and nodding slowly.

"Hey, Naminé, should you really be criticizing Roxas since you can't even beat Selphie on your own?" I turned to stare into Axel's mocking eyes.

Roxas interrupted before I could say anything rash. "Well, if you're so confident in your fighting abilities, Axel, then why don't you go get _all_ of the raft materials while Mina and I train?"

"Yeah, that's right, Axel, we wouldn't want to let you down…"

Axel blinked at us, unable to make one of his usual witty comments.

"Well, I guess that's decided, then. We need two logs, a cloth for a sail, and some rope." Roxas patted Axel on the shoulder. "Have fun!"

"Are you sure you trust me to get it all on my own? I'm not exactly the most responsible, y'know…"

"Well…" Roxas and I turned away to consult with each other on the situation. "What do you think?"

"Well, I'm not sure… He should be able to get everything on his own… but he is distracted easily at times… like when that bird flew over while we were sparring and I accidentally knocked him out…"

"And he is right about me needing to train, but I really want to get this raft done, especially since we've been planning to leave day after tomorrow…"

"I think that you should let Roxas go with Axel, so that Naminé can get some good training done," whispered a third voice. Roxas and I both looked up to see Axel looking at us very seriously. I pushed him away playfully, but he grabbed my hand and spun me into a tight embrace. "Well, what do you think, Nami?" As if on second thought, he grabbed Roxas into a hug as well. "And you, Rox? Well?" 

Roxas glanced at me. "It's Mina's choice…"

"…Oh, go ahead. I'll just be here, waiting, all alone…"

"All right, Nam, we'll be back soon with all that stuff!" I watched them lope away, laughing and feinting at each other with the wooden practice swords the three of us carried around everywhere. I looked down at my own sword and sighed. It's true that I was considered the weakest of the six of us kids that played on this island during the summer, but I was improving quite rapidly ever since Roxas had started tutoring me in the ways of the (fake) sword. He was patient and gentle, and he was nearly always available to help. Sometimes Axel came to join in on our practice sessions, but on these occasions, our practice quickly degenerated into a game of "Let's watch Axel beat the crap out of Roxas while Naminé sits quietly off to the side." Although it wasn't like Roxas minded being smacked around by Axel, because he also seemed to be improving a bit with each round. But only a little bit.

I held my sword with my right arm fully extended. Slowly, I bent my knees in a stretch that Roxas said would increase my endurance and focused on holding my sword straight, parallel with the ground. When I had remained in this position for about thirty seconds, I shifted my weight to the balls of my feet and straightened my legs so that I was in a ready fighting stance.

Suddenly, I struck! I leapt through the air to deliver a downward blow, followed by a slash to the side. I dodged nimbly to the right, and used my momentum to lunge into the position behind me with a quick spin and jab. From here, I kicked out with a left side kick and then a left roundhouse. I faltered slightly when I heard the sound of someone clapping, but attempted to complete this sword form with the same single-minded determination I had started with. With a horizontal block and one last thrust to the chest of my invisible opponent, I finished and looked up to the platform connecting the small off-shore island with our larger one.

"See, Nam, I told you that you'd do better without this kid messing you up." Axel gestured to Roxas, who was awkwardly carrying both logs and the cloth for the sail. Somehow, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen next. "Hey, Rox, catch!"

And I was not disappointed. Roxas leapt forward willingly in an attempt to catch the coil of rope that Axel had thrown over his shoulder. He never had a chance. The rope had landed sideways on the top log, which had caused the cloth to slip off the top of the stack. Roxas had attempted to catch it, but had lost his balance and toppled over, with all our supplies coming to rest on top of him in one form or another. Axel bent down to sift through the rubble in search of Roxas' fallen form.

When he finally unearthed Roxas, he began weeping. "Oh, Roxas, my poor Roxas, why did you have to die? Oh, Roxas, I tried to tell Naminé that this raft was a bad idea, I tried to tell you that you couldn't take all that stuff on your own! I would have helped you, would have supported you through all of the hard times… Why, Naminé? Why must the good die young?"

I raced around and leapt up onto the roof of the nearby shack, pulling myself up quickly before any stray splinters embedded themselves in my hand. "Oh, Axel, I don't know. There, there, it'll be all right… I'm sure that, in time, you'll learn to love again…"

Roxas glared at Axel before slapping his face, hard. "Owieeee, whadja do that for, Roxas!"

"Because I'm not dead, and you were the one who came up for the raft in the first place! And you shoved all this stuff on me, despite the fact that you knew I couldn't carry it all!"

"Awww… but, Roxy, I was just giving you a chance to prove your manly courage and strength…" Axel pouted, shoving his face into Roxas' shirt.

"Ugh! Get off! You're getting me all wet!" Roxas struggled to push Axel away, but Axel clung tenaciously to Roxas. I giggled at their juvenile antics, unable to restrain myself.

"Roxy, I'm not letting go until you 'pologize for making me an' Nam worry about you."

"Fine, whatever, I'm sorry. Although it was all your fault."

"And… you also gotta 'pologize for hitting me, ya big meanie!" Axel whimpered.

"And how do you propose I do that?"

"Well, whenever I get a boo-boo, Mommy always kisses it and it feels better…" Axel had shifted to a very childish tone of voice.

Roxas flushed a very nice shade of red, somewhere between scarlet and carmine. "Well… if it will get you to shut up…" And with that, he leaned over and kissed Axel on the cheek.

There was a short pause. "Ah, Rox, you gotta kiss darling Nami as well. You don't want her to get lonely, or jealous, right?" And as Roxas crawled over to place his soft lips lightly on my cheek, it was my turn to blush.

"Well, are you happy now, Axel? Or would you like me to jump down and smoochify Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka as well?"

"Oh, of course not. They don't love you as much as we do, right, Nam?"

"Oh, certainly not. Because no one could love you, Roxas, more than me and Axel do."

"Oh, right. Thanks, guys, you're the best. It doesn't matter that I've been grievously injured by these horrible materials, because you're my bestest friends in the whole wide world, right?"

"Absolutely." Axel and I spoke in unison before looking to each other and high-fiving. The door to the upper level of the shack slammed open, and Tidus ran out to confront us excitedly.

"Wait, what was that? Did you say that you were horribly injured, Roxas? If that's the case, then you guys should just surrender now! Axel and Naminé can't beat the three of us on their own!"

"I was joking, Tid."

"Oh…" Tidus looked crestfallen, though he perked up a bit as Selphie and Wakka ran out to join us.

"Hey, hey, Naminé! What was that? A kiss I saw? Roxas loves Nami! Roxas loves Nami!" Selphie teased, smacking her lips together. "How romantic!"

"Not really, Selph. Roxas and I aren't really in love. And before you say anything, neither are Axel and I, and neither are Axel and Roxas. We all just love each other, as _friends,_" I said firmly, looking Selphie square in the eye. "No romantic stuff here, sorry."

Selphie giggled. "Are you sure?" 

Wakka turned away, looking disgusted. "Aww, man, get a room, ya?"

I turned to see Axel and Roxas snuggling up close, softly combing through hair and ruffling clothes. They broke apart with a smile. "Sorry, Mina, we couldn't resist."

"You wanna join us?" Axel offered, tapping the sandy ground in front of him. "Make it a threesome?"

"Of course! You can't leave me out!" I ran forward, tumbling into their waiting arms. "Sorry, Selphie… I lied!" We stayed in this intimate position until Wakka ran off and Selphie followed him, giggling maniacally.

"So, Tidu, you ready for tomorrow?"

"I dunno, Roxas, are you?"

"Oh, I'm expecting to make a full recovery by tomorrow with the help of my… friends…" Roxas smirked, tugging Axel and me closer.

"That's sick, man! I'm taking you guys down tomorrow! See ya!" Tidus jumped off the shack roof and ran to the pier, where Selphie and Wakka were paddling their boats away.

We watched him sail away into the distance before sitting up and separating ourselves. It was Roxas who first noticed. "The sun's setting, guys…"

"I'll put this stuff away and meet you guys by the tree," Axel offered with unwonted generosity. He loaded himself up and jumped gracefully down to place the materials by the door to the other side of the island.

We took our usual positions on the curving tree that grew the fruit known as paopu, with Roxas and I seated on the trunk and Axel leaning "cool-ly" against the root.

"Why are we here?" Noticing our looks of confusion, Axel continued, "You know, us three. We're all here on this island, right?"

"Last time I checked," Roxas muttered darkly.

"Oh, why don't you shut up, Roxas? You know what I mean. It's just, we could have been on completely different worlds. But we're here now. Why?"

"This is going to sound really lame, but maybe it's destiny."

"No, I like that theory. There's nothing wrong with it. But what exactly do you mean?"

"Like, maybe we're here, because we're _meant_ to be here. Like something is going to happen. And we're the key to the whole thing."

Roxas groaned. "Don't get all existential on me, you two." We all laughed.

"D'you think we should get going We gotta get rested up for the big battle tomorrow!"

"Yeah." Roxas took off, running for the boats. Axel and I followed more slowly.

"Hey, Naminé!" Axel tossed a paopu fruit in my direction. I managed to catch it, fumbling only slightly.

"What's this for?"

"Oh, Nami, don't you know anything/ The paopu fruit is a fruit of love, and if two people share it, they'll be bound together forever…"

"I know that," I responded, annoyed. "I've lived here just as long as you have! I mean, why'd you give it to me?"

"Don't you wanna share it with somebody? Somebody special? Someone like… Roxas?"

I threw the slippery thing back in his face. "No, I most certainly don't." Axel shrugged and raced forward.

"Well, just so you know, I don't want to either. I ate one of those things by myself once, and it is not worth it, Roxas is not worth it, you are _not_ worth me eating another one of these things."

"Does it… really taste that bad?"

"Nah, I just made that up. Still…" Axel jumped off the roof and ran to catch up with Roxas. I followed more slowly. As we steered away in the sun, I reflected on our paopu legend. I've known it forever and a day, but ever since Roxas showed up, it's begun to have more substance. The legend is no longer just a fairy tale, a story my mother used to tell me before tucking me into my hammock. Now the paopu fruit, that innocent star shape, symbolizes something deeper. And I'm not sure I'm happy about that.

"All right, meet back here tomorrow, by half-sun! First we warm up, then we get some provisions gathered for that big trip, and finally, we take on those other guys and win!"

"Yeah!" Axel and I chimed in response to Roxas' instructions. Roxas muttered something else, and I rowed closer, curious.

"-ing soon. But then everything will change and I'll have to decide, and I hate choosing. I wish nothing like this would happen, I wish it was just me'n'Axel'n'Mina always the same…"

"Wouldn't that get awful boring?"

Roxas turned to face… Axel, who had also guided his boat along the side of Roxas'. "I…It's just that… I've…"

"…been having second thoughts about the trip?" Axel finished softly, placing a hand on Roxas' arm. "We don't have to go through with it if you don't want to, okay?"

"It's…I'm worried. What if we do find another world? What if it's… my world, and they threw me out of it for some reason? Or… what if we don't find anything, and we just get lost at sea?"

"Roxas, it's okay. If you don't want to go, we won't go. But don't worry about it. They would never throw a kid like you out of a world… unless it was for being too cute," Axel teased, dropping his oar into the boat so that he could reassure Roxas with a friendly embrace.

"Yeah… Hey, d'you… I don't want to impose, but, Axel… do you think that I could stay at your house tonight?"

"Sure, Roxas, of course." They corrected their courses at an angle such that I was left alone. I poled my way faster towards my home with a sigh.

"It doesn't look like I'm able to do anything right… I have the feeling that I'll be having some nightmares tonight…"

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Far away, a duck was walking. This was not just any duck; this was a famous magician-duck who was the great court wizard of a high kingdom. Also, this duck had been banned in Denmark for not wearing any pants. And indeed, as he strolled down the regal hallway, his only attire was a blue, zippered jacket and a crooked hat. Coughing impressively, he raised a fist (er, wing) to knock on the gargantuan door that led to His Majesty's throne room. A much smaller panel of the door swung out, and the duck walked through. Just as he did every day, he couldn't help but wonder why The King would have suck huge boors built if a smaller entrance was used for such important people as himself, but, as he did every day, he put it down to royal insanity and continued on.

"Good morning, Your Majesty! I hope you slept well," he quacked, in an outrageously thick accent. He chattered on he was within 4.73 feet of the throne, when, as protocol dictated, he bowed and raised his eyes to gaze upon… an empty throne! "Blabwawawa-WHACK!" He was hard to understand at the best of times, but at the worst of times, his speech was completely unintelligible. A dog stepped out from behind the vacant seat, carrying in his mouth a piece of paper. The duck chased the dog into a garden before snatching it triumphantly His expression quickly changed to one of shock, and then one of complete panic, as he read the message. He ran off to the other side of the garden, still quacking madly.

Eventually, he came upon a figure snoozing near the hedge shaped like a castle. "ZAP!" yelled the duck, and a bolt of lightning flew from the heavens, electrocuting the iron-clad knight and effectively waking him.

"Yah-hah-hah-HOOIE! Oh, uh… g'mornin', Donald!" the unfortunate target, who resembled a dog, greeted the duck, rubbing at his mail-topped head, which had felt the majority of the strike. "Uh, strange weather we've been havin' lately, huh?"

"Be quiet, Goofy! This is serious!" Donald squawked, flailing his arms and dropping his wizarding rod. "But it's top secret! You can't tell anyone!" 

"Queen Minnie?" Goofy's eyes widened.

"Not even the Queen!" Donald declared, pushing his nose (er, bill) into the air haughtily.

Goofy paused for a second. "Daisy?"

"No! Nobody but us two can know!"

"G'mornin', ladies!" Goofy waved to someone in the background.

"W…Whaaa?" Donald slowly turned to find the ladies in question standing at the arch before the flower bed. Daisy, his longtime girlfriend, tapped her toe impatiently while the queen cleared her throat expevtantly.

"So, uh, what's so important, Donald?"

"Eheh-heh-heh…"

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Xiana: Chapter 1, hope you like, need to split chapter 2 into two parts and type it, then I'll post it, yeah…

(Throws Naminé plushies to reviewers) So yeah, I hope you liked that it was from Nami's point of view, and I hope you'll keep reading and reviewing. I love you all.


	3. Within Destiny's Grasp, pt 2

_**Kingdom Hearts: Reflection**_

Summary: What if Naminé, Axel, and Roxas were on the Destiny Islands instead of Sora, Riku, and Kairi?

Disclaimer: Wouldn't it be cool if I could own it? Maybe… Ya know, it might actually be better to just, like, rent it for the day, or something.

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Xiana: Here's the second chapter. 4500 words! Roxas is such a klutz, but we love him anyway… XD

**AnimeDutchess:** I'm glad you liked it! It _is_ different, isn't it? Me gusta mucho.

**KB**: I like it too XD

Shadow Hunter: Um, well, it's just Roxas' nickname for her. You'll notice that Roxas always shortens her name to 'Mina' and Axel calls her 'Nami.'

Nobody: Well, I'm glad you liked it.

**lafayette722: **Yeah, but it doesn't seem like many other people have had this idea, huh?

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**Within Destiny's Grasp (Part 2)**

Darkness. A lightening of the stage. The curtain comes up and the scene is set. A deserted beach in the middle of nowhere, with three principal players. A blonde girl dressed in a white blouse and a slightly short blue skirt. A boy with a black shirt, long green slacks, and slightly darker hair than hers. A second boy, fire for hair, blue tank, and casual jeans to match. The act begins.

_Silence. Peace. No movement._

_But then the girl rounds on the second boy, gesturing angrily and presumably yelling, though no sound can be heard. He yells back and advances threateningly. The tension builds. The first boy stands calmly, watching the argument escalate, holding an object loosely in his hand. A yellow, star-shaped fruit is what he holds, and it appears to be what the argument is about._

_It seems that it will come to violence, but he finally says something, raises the hand holding the fruit. He is the focus of their attention for a second before he takes the other boy's arm and begins to lead him away. He hands him the fruit, and they snap it in half. It is to be shared. She sinks to the sand and begins to cry. Alone. Alone again._

_Then they freeze, before the boys can disappear from sight. They bow. The curtain closes, and I clap. It echoes throughout the deserted space. Bravo. My downfall. In one act. Ye Trajickal Historeye of the Faire Ladye Namineya. And still I applaud, alone in this theater, before the house lights fade out and the purity and sanctity of darkness remains._

- - -

I woke up with a thin line of sweat across my forehead. I quickly wiped it away with a sigh. Nightmares. Just as I had thought.

The sun had barely risen, and I prepared myself for the day. I left the house and got into my boat, heading for the island, which was only a short distance away from home. When I reached the pier, only Selphie's boat, with the painted flowers across the prow, was visible.

She was standing at the edge, balancing on the very last plank on the edge of her toes, clearly waiting for something. Tidus and Wakka, perhaps?

When I pulled my boat up into the shallows so that it wouldn't float away, Selphie turned to me. She was wearing her usual yellow dress and the same perky smile she showed the world every day. "Naminé! Ready for today?"

"Yeah!" I grinned, waving my wooden sword. "You're going down, Selph!" I leapt onto the pier, sheathing my sword in my belt. "So, the battle starts at high sun, and Roxas and Axel said that we'd meet at mid-sun. What should we do until then?"

"We could… Oh, here come Tidus and Wakka!" Tidus ran up to the dock and shoved me into the briny water.

"Selphie, no fraternizing with the enemy! Come on, we're gonna have a top-secret strategy meeting in that hut over there! And Naminé, you're not invited!" They rant to the big tree, climbed up the ladder, and disappeared into the solitude of the abandoned little house carved into the top floor of the biggest tree on the island.

The other two wouldn't be here for 20 degrees. What was I to do? I could practice for the fight… but I wanted to save my energy, and I _had_ practiced for a while after returning home last night. I could try to spy on the others, but that probably wouldn't get me far. Their strategy was probably "Run Around and Attack! No Real Plan!" and the three of us could easily organize this into three separate one-on-one duels. I could… I could work on the raft! I quickly wrote a note in the sand that would be easily visible from the landing point, and dashed off to where Axel had stored our materials last night.

I took a log and the rope to the other side of the island, pushing through the old, warped, wooden door. I placed then by the cove and returned for log 2 and the cloth. I figured that the best thing that I could do would be to start working on the sail, so I took the cloth in one hand and a sharp knife-rock in the other, and proceeded to cut into the green material, cutting it into two equal-sized squares. At this point, I pulled out a bone needle and thin seagrass that was spun into thread, and began stitching the two together.

I worked at my task, and before long, I was nearly finished. I looked up when I felt the tickle of heat on my arms that meant the sun was shining directly on me and that I was at least 2 degrees late for my meeting with Axel and Roxas. Or rather, they were late, I decided, as I noticed them strolling in through the window that connected the two halves of the island.

"Hey, Naminé! You ready for today?" Axel greeted.

"Oh, I'm ready. But are you guys? Do you see how late you are? I was beginning to think that you'd both wimped out and were leaving me to face that treacherous trio all on my lonesome!" I joked, smiling up at the two friends, who were now attempting to cross over to where I was by leaping across the tops of palm trees. Roxas fell quickly, and I gasped, worried. Axel just laughed from his position atop the nearest tree.

"Oh, don't worry about me, guys. I'm perfectly fine, just got the wind knocked out of me, Roxas wheezed.

"Ahaha! Roxas, you fell! Hahaha!" Axel wasn't taking this too seriously.

"You idiot!" Roxas pulled out his sword and hit the tree Axel was standing on. It shook violently, dislodging Axel.

"Aaaah!"

"Whoa!"

-SMACK!-

I stood and walked down to survey the chaos. Axel had fallen from the tree to land directly on top of Roxas, effectively crushing him. A coconut had also fallen from the tree, rendering Axel temporarily unconscious. To add insult to injury, the coconut had split, and the milk was dripping into Axel's hair and onto Roxas' face.

I'll admit that I couldn't stop myself. I started laughing and I could absolutely not stop. Let's say that if it wasn't the funniest sight I'd ever chanced upon, it was certainly the most ludicrous.

It only got better when they woke up from their temporary rest. Axel jerked awake, which in turn caused Roxas to start. They both relaxed for a moment, then realized that Axel was still lying on top of Roxas, and that their faces were almost touching. They scuttled backwards in an imitation crab-walk and then collapsed to the ground. Roxas licked some of the milk of his face while Axel rubbed the back of his head gingerly, grimacing at the stickiness. And I just could not stop laughing.

It was only after Axel had cleaned his hair out in the sea and Roxas had asked "What are you laughin' about, huh?" angrily that my uncontrollable mirth had devolved to mere hiccups of glee. By this point, it was nearly high-sun, so we all stretched out and prepared to do battle.

- - -

We lined up, three on one side, three on the other. Roxas drew his weapon. "Let the first ever 3 v. 3 grand battle begin!"

I immediately rushed Selphie, who seemed quite taken aback by my ferocity, for she jumped backwards and nearly tripped. However, this was only a clever ploy. She pirouetted to the side, and I was barely able to raise my sword in time to bounce the cord that served as her weapon back and away from me. Again, I lashed out, managing to score a light hit on her arm. It was weak, but it tilted her just enough that she actually fell to the ground.

I took advantage of this, and showed her no mercy until she cried out in surrender. "Sorry, Selphie, but I can't let these guys down. They'd never forgive me." I turned to see Roxas dodging the blitzballs that Wakka was frantically hurling in all directions. Axel was skillfully evading the long pole that Tidus was jabbing at him, leaping in with a counterstrike, forcing him backwards and kicking out. Tidus toppled over, and Axel regained his balance by looping into a back handspring while throwing his sword backwards in the air, expertly catching it in his left hand after landing back on his feet.

"Tidus, do you give up yet?" I called, adding a cool note of disdain to my voice.

"Aaaaaarh! Be quiet, Naminé!" Tidus rushed me, spinning his staff swiftly and viciously. I managed to slide beneath the rapidly rotating wood and shoved a leg directly in his path. He went down hard, and Axel flicked his sword to Tidus' throat.

"Mmm, now do you give up?" Axel asked, voice sweet as pineapple syrup on a Wetseason day.

There was an element of true animosity in his voice. "Yes, Axel, Naminé, I surrender." He dragged himself off to the pier where Selphie stood looking off into the waves, and began violently cheering Wakka on. "C'mon, Wakka! Destroy that blonde pretender! Show him who has the real power around here!"

As it happened, Roxas had run off behind Wakka, who was facing the shack. Wakka turned around quickly and threw a blitzball off without bothering to aim it properly. It accidentally hit Tidus in the face, leaving a red mark and the imprint of a logo on his face. "Uncool, man! You did that on purpose!"

Wakka was slightly distracted. "Whatta ya talkin' about, man? I was aimin' for Roxas, ya?"

"Yeah, well, you know what? You hit me!"

"Whaddaya expect, man? You look alike, 'n' I was kinda mad at the time, ya? That kid sure knows how to push your buttons."

Axel and I were shocked. Kind, sweet, naïve Roxas had gotten calm, imperturbable Wakka angry?

"He said, 'Hey, Wakka, should I just give up now?' I asked him why, and he said, 'When I beat you, I don' want your girlfriend to come afta me an' put one of her heeby-jeeby curses on me,' ya?"

"Wakka, everyone knows about you and crazy witch Lulu," Axel stated, tapping his fingers against his leg impatiently, sitting down beside me. I was still slumped on the ground. Tidus had partially landed on me, and I couldn't quite feel my left leg, where the stick had smacked me when he fell. Axel noticed this not at all, for he slung his arms around me. "Hey, Nam, whaddaya say we take a break and let Rox wrap this battle up?"

Wakka was still worked up about the whole Lulu thing. "She's not a witch, man! She's actually a real nice lady, an' if you eva spent any time wid' her at all, you'd know dat she's just not very social!"

"How could we spend any time with her? You're aaaaaaalways over there on her little island," Tidus exaggerated, waving his arms wildly in an apparent attempt to display how much time Wakka spent with her.

"Aww, I think Wakka's in looooove!" Selphie giggled.

"She doesn't love me! She's said it to me on many occasions! She only cares about my brodda, Chappu, an' now dat he's gone, I'm pretty much the only friend she has!"

"Aww, you're getting so worked up about all of this, Wakka," Axel teased. "It must be love after all."

Wakka's face burned with something like embarrassment, though I couldn't quite tell why. "Sh-shut up, all of you! Naminé's the only nice one around here, and you'd all do good to be more like her, ya?"

It's true that Lulu was a nice girl, and based on the impression I got from her, she only hung around with Wakka because she was lonely. I had invited her to play with us on the island a few times, but she had told me that she preferred the dark, cool environment of her small hut, and that she would rather stay inside.

Wakka continued yelling, mostly at Tidus and Axel, and Roxas, who had been unnoticed through the entire argument, snuck around behind him. "An' I'm just sayin', you should really-" Roxas tapped Wakka's shoulder, and when Wakka turned around, Roxas brought his sword down hard on his orange head. Wakka crashed into the sand, and Roxas sheathed his stick.

"Looks like we won, guys…" Axel cheered, standing and dragging me up with him. He finally seemed to notice my slight injury, for he allowed me to lean on him a bit, supporting part of my weight while continuing to express his triumph.

Roxas walked over to help balance me out. "Axel, calm down. It's just one battle, and you even had Naminé help you out…"

Axel was ready to respond, but Tidus cut in. "That's right it's only one battle! Next time we fight, the results will be much different! If you think you're ever going to be able to beat me again like that…" He continued shouting, but Axel and Roxas simply walked away, carrying me between them.

We reached the other side of the island, and the boys set me down on the raft. "Anyway, what I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted by that ol' bag of wind was that I'm really proud of you guys. You all beat them, and you even got to help me a bit, Nam."

"You're sounding sort of strange, Axel. Have you suddenly become all nice and supportive because you've got malaria and are going to die, or is it just that you've been out in the sun for too long?" Roxas sniped, causing Axel to attempt a death glare at him.

"I'm really not as mean as you all seem to think I am. Just because I'm not afraid to speak my mind doesn't make me mean."

"Well, it does when 'speaking your mind' just means insulting people!"

"Guys, please, let's not fight… We still have to gather all of our provisions, and we're going to have to work together if we're going to get them all before sundown," I reminded them. It's never any fun being the responsible one. As predicted, they groaned and immediately began whining.

"But Namiiiii… Can't you give us a little break? We exerted ourselves so hard! We need some rest before we go and start finding all that food'n'junk…" Axel moaned.

"Meeeeeennaaaa, I'm really tired! It's hard to keep running around and stuff! Your battle was over quick! You don't know how hard it was!" Roxas whimpered.

Thank you, Roxas. I now know how I'm going to win this argument. I stood to face them with a look of disgust. "We've been planning this trip for moons now! We _need _to get this done. You say you're tired, but you know what? At the end of the day, I'm injured and you guys aren't hurt at all. I'm finding us some supplies, and if you two _children_ ever want to grow up and prove your manhood, you'll come and help me." I strolled away, not showing any weakness or allowing myself to limp even slightly.

Roxas came running after me immediately, dragging Axel along. "Hey, hey Mina, wait!" I smiled to myself. Insult their masculinity and they'll chase you down to probe themselves. It wasn't that I wanted to be mean, but being a girl among these lunkheads means that you've got to learn how to be slightly manipulative if anything's going to get done.

"So glad you boys decided to join me," I smirked. "Axel, would you be so kind as to fetch us some coconuts, three to be precise? Roxas was kind enough to demonstrate how to do that earlier…"

Axel sighed. "Fine, as long as they don't land on me again… That was more painful than _anything_ Tidus could throw at me…" I coughed once, and he looked down, a light blush spreading to the very tips of his ears. "Right, sorry Naminé…"

"And as for you, Roxas, I'd like you to get a seagull egg, if it's not too much trouble. I'll be getting some drinking water for us, if you don't mind."

"That sounds good. Let's meet by the ship when we're done."

Roxas ran off to the shack, which was where the gulls often nested, Axel started bashing away at the palm trees that covered this part of the isle, discarding the hollow and overripe ones in favor of fresher, greener fruit. I set off for the waterfall in the center of the island, next to what Axel and I called, "The Secret Place." As I filled up several small bottles with the fresh, clear water, Wakka called out to me.

"Hey! Naminé! Uh… Listen, I wanted to thank you for not sayin' anything 'gainst Lu. You're her friend too, and I'm sure she'd appreciate you stickin' up for her, ya?"

"Lulu's a good person. It wouldn't hurt for her to be more social, but if she's happy with her life, then we don't have any right to judge her," I stated, corking one container and beginning to fill another flask.

"Yeah… Anyway, me an' Tidus are gonna do a li'l exploring today, down at that cave at de base of the rocks, ya? We were wondering if you'd maybe like to come?"

"Um, sorry, Wakka, but I think I'm going to be too busy taking care of Axel and Roxas to go exploring with you today. Maybe some other time?"

"Hey, Naminé! I got the egg! I'm-uh-WHAAA!" Roxas had been yelling from a position on top of a palm tree, which had already proven to be unsafe for him. He had crashed to the ground again, head partially buried in the sand. The gull egg had landed softly next to him, somehow unbroken.

I grimaced at Wakka. "And… that's my cue. I'll see ya…" I fan up to help Roxas out of the sand. Together, we wrenched his head out of the beach, leaving him coughing and spitting out sand. "Roxas… you're so clumsy…"

"Well, I got the egg at least, didn't I?"

"Here… maybe I should carry it back. You might fall over and break it…"

Roxas stuck his tongue out at me immaturely. "Meeeeeena, I'm not gonna break the egg after all that time I spent getting it…"

"I'm not taking any chances." I scooped up the egg, dropping the glass bottles. Roxas scrambled to pick them up. We returned to the raft, where Axel was waiting patiently. Except that Axel wasn't patient, and he was still bashing away at a tree. When he saw us returning, he kicked it viciously one last time before turning away and back to us. "I've been waiting… you guys sure are slow."

"Yeah, thanks to Roxas. He fell off _another_ tree."

"Hey, Roxas, come on, man! You gotta stop being such a klutz…"

Roxas wasn't even paying attention, so I sighed and changed the subject. "Well, we got all the necessities… Anyone want to bring any other type of food?"

Now Roxas perked up. "Mushrooms!"

"Why do you like mushrooms so much, you freak?" Axel sighed. Ever since Roxas had shown up here five seasons ago, he had been obsessed with tracking down and eating the wild mushrooms that grew in dank, moist corners of the island. Axel and I had never understood Roxas' strange fixation on mushrooms, but we had long since accepted it as "One of those Weird Things about Roxas." The list was continuously growing, and currently consisted of 137 items.

"Because it's the most delicious food in the world! Can we bring some? Can we bring some? Come on, Mina! Please!"

"If I don't say yes, you're just going to whinge about it until I finally agree."

"So that's a yes, then?" Without waiting for a response, Roxas started sniffing the air. "Hey, I think there's one over there!" He pointed to a cave blocked off by a huge rock.

"Well… anything to make you happy." Axel walked over and started shoving the rock. "Hey, Roxas, gimme a hand with this big ol' boulder!" Roxas eagerly complied, and they had soom moved the stone just far enough that I could slip into the small cavern, pluck a few 'shrooms out of the loamy soil, and slide back out within seconds. I placed them byt the other supplies.

"One bunch of mushrooms. You happy now, Rox?"

Roxas was not the least bit satisfied. "No! This trip's going to take longer than just one meal! We're going to need… oh, at least two more clumps of mushrooms if anything's ever going to get done around here!"

"By which he means that he'll start crying unless we find some food for him, right Nam?" Axel asked, slightly amused by Roxas. "So, Roxas, can you sniff out any more of those mushrooms?"

Roxas actually tilted his head back and started scenting the air in the manner of a wild dog. He ran up a hill and around the corner, while Axel sprinted after him. I walked up the incline myself to continue watching the scene.

"What's that, Roxas? You found a mushroom? Oh, who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" Axel inquired, patting Roxas' soft blonde spikes. Roxas tapped his foot impatiently, not heeding Axel's affectionate caress until Axel finally gave up and hit him with a backhand that sent him flying forward. "So what, now you're too good to pick your own mushrooms? You need to have Nami and me do it for you?"

Roxas got off the ground and dusted off his clothes. "I was too distracted by you," he growled, staring pitiably at Axel.

Axel was filled with remorse. Well, not really. "Yeah, more like you were too busy drooling over that fungus to even pretend to notice me!"

Roxas sulked. "…Fine. I'm sorry."

"Hey Roxas, let's never fight over mushrooms again, okay?"

"All right, Axel. Be they Shiitake or Portobello or good old Destiny Fresh, these mushrooms will no longer take precedence over friendship, which is of course the most important of all." They hugged each other and peace was restored.

"Yaaaaay, it's a happy ending!" I cheered. "I always knew that things would work out in the end!"

They looked at me for a moment before rushing at me, squealing, "GROUP HUG!" They knocked me over, and the tree of us rolled over onto the beach, laughing, with all thoughts of mushrooms forgotten.

- - -

Donald was attempting to salvage the situation. "Ahem… What I was _trying_ to say was that it was top secret and that we couldn't tell you lovely ladies until, uh… we had gotten a chance… to discuss it…"

The Queen nodded, but Daisy shook her head impatiently. "Stop with the excuses. Just tell us what happened to the King!"

"Heh-heh-heh…" Donald laughed nervously. He knew that he was in trouble… "Well, it says here that His Majesty is on some sort of quest to keep the stars from going out, and he won't be back!"

"It all seems a bit absurd. I mean, stars don't last forever… It's not like Mickey at all to be off gallivanting around the solar system on some sort of wild goose chase without at least telling me fires…" Minnie pondered, troubled.

"Well, you already know my opinions on that one…" Donald muttered. He had always been slightly jealous that Mickey had simply inherited the throne, when it was obvious to everyone else that _he_ was far superior in every way, shape, and form.

"Whatever. Just give me that letter!" Daisy snatched the letter from Donald and began to read it. "…It says here that the stars have been going out regularly for nearly a month! It also says that His Majesty thinks that these stars are actually other worlds! Donald!"

Donald scuffed his feet sheepishly. "Yeah… I was getting to that part…"

"Don't you understand what this means?"

"Of _course_ I understand what it means!" The pair began screaming at each other increasingly loudly.

Eventually, the Queen stepped between the two. "Stop this fighting, both of you! If we're going to do anything to help the King, we'll need to stay calm." The squabbling ducks calmed down and began listening intently. "Now then, Donald, I want you to go with Goofy to find the King. Once you find him, I want you to stay close and protect him." Daisy offered her the letter, and she read it through once before giving further instruction. "It sounds as if your first destination should be this Traverse Town place. Presumably, Leon will know where to find this key that is spoken of in the letter. Daisy, you will remain with me and advise me on my rule while the King is away."

Donald began to walk away, but the Queen stopped him. "Oh, and one more thing. You will be accompanied by Sir Jiminy Cricket, knight of the royal order and official court recorder."

A small cricket chirped from his position on a far away table. "I won't be able to write an official biography if I don't know what's happening to him!" he shouted, although it was barely audible because of his diminutive stature.

Goofy went over to pick the small insect up. "Well, uh, I reckon we oughta get going. C'mon, Donald! Ah-hyuck! We've got a King to save!"

They continued down to the basement, where a ship to another world was waiting. The staircase that led to it spiraled downwards with alternating walls lit by images of the royal crown and the royal ears. While they walked farther and farther into the center of the world, they discussed the cricket's world and determined that they were going to need a change of clothes, lest the denizens of Traverse Town grow suspicious of their origins. Jiminy personally could not see how it truly mattered, especially when one considered that Traverse Town was a refuge of sorts for all sorts of characters that had escaped their destroyed worlds in search of a haven. His protests went unheeded, for when the three finally reached the bottom of the stairs, Donald and Goofy rushed into the bathrooms conveniently to either side of the golden doors leading to the gummi ship hangar, first depositing Mr. Cricket on the ground.

They returned within a few minutes in new clothes better suited to urban life than court intrigue. Goofy stooped to pick up the little insect while Donald rat through the shining doors to where their ship waited.

Their mission was about to begin!

- - -

Xiana: Well, this update was much later than it needed to be. But it's not really my fault. I'd rather not go into the details. The next chapter will hopefully be up soon… T-T


	4. Within Destiny's Grasp, pt 3

_**Kingdom Hearts: Reflection**_

Summary: What if Naminé, Axel, and Roxas were on the Destiny Islands instead of Sora, Riku, and Kairi?

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the Hades Cup Tournament in KH2 would not be nearly as hard as it is. And those gummi ship levels wouldn't be there either.

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Xiana: Chapter 3. This one's a good chapter. Not that the other ones were bad or anything, but you know.

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**Within Destiny's Grasp (part 3)**

The first thing that was immediately visible in the room was a huge pair of rotating cogs, which were powering the rest of the complex machinery. Donald ran up and kicked a long, trumpet-like tube used for communicating with the launch crew.

"Hello up there! We're ready to go now!"

The responding voice was high and squeaky, and could only be described as "chipmunk-y". Fortunately, the responder was, in fact, a chipmunk, so this statement could be safely made without sounding uninformed, racist, or just politically incorrect. "Okay! Your bags are packed, and we're just about ready to take off!"

"Great! Where's our ship?"

"It's right there in front of you!"

"What! That dinky little thing? Where's my private ship?"

"Ummm, Lord Donald… I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but… the King took it earlier this morning when he set off on his mission…"

"WHAAAAAT!??" Donald set off into another temper tantrum, but before he could get _too_ worked up about the whole thing, a huge, mechanized white hand plucked him off of the ground and dumped him into the cockpit. It returned to set Goofy gently in the seat next to Donald. He buckled his seatbelt and made sure that Jiminy was safely situated in the cup holder.

The yellow dog jumped from the docking platform to the passenger area before running up and seating himself in the pilot's seat.

Donald finally managed to pull his head out of the crack between the two cushions of his chair as a pre-recorded message came on. 'Thank you for flying Disney _Ear_lines today. For your safety, please keep your seatbelt securely fastened while the vessel is in motion. In case of a water or outer space landing, please refer to the pamphlet located in the seat back. Flight attendants will…"

"AWK! Pluto, you get down this instant!" Donald yelled, attempting to drag the sleeping dog off of the seat. Pluto remained in the same position while Donald pulled harder and harder on the sleeping pooch's ears. Goofy took this opportunity to read the safety brochures the airline had supplied.

"…and we hope you'll choose us again next time you feel the need to go sailing off into the cold, black abyss we affectionately call space. Thank you." The ship began to vibrate and turn, and a long, lighted runway was revealed.

Goofy finished reading about the nearest exits and oxygen masks and put the papers away. "Uh, Donald, I reckon you oughta sit down and-"

"Pluto, down!" Donald continued to struggle with the canine. Goofy shrugged and leaned back in his chair. A countdown clock began flashing numbers directly ahead of the nose of the ship.

"5…4…3…" Too late, Donald realized that he was in quite an unsafe position. He scrambled for his own chair and was desperately trying to snap the restraints into place when the countdown clock flashed zero. It blinked momentarily, and Donald really thought he had a chance.

Which was when a neon arrow appeared. And it was pointing down. Straight down.

The gravitational field dematerialized, and the ship dropped into a freefall dive, nose first. Goofy leaned back contentedly; Jiminy clung to the rim of the cup holder; and Donald was bouncing around the cabin, ramming into levers and window, and screaming in sheer terror. A rapidly approaching grate seemed ready to cause the untimely demise of all those aboard, but it slid back to allow the little rocket to pass through before slamming shut with a resoundingly final clank. The ship continued to plummet until the booster engine fired up, pulling it out of the world's gravity and launching it into the void.

"Uh, Donald… are you feelin' okay? You're lookin' kinda sick… and, uh, that there floor doesn't look very comfortable… Hey, do you wanna snack? One of those nice chipmunk guys gave me a complimentary pack of peanuts." Donald got up and started yelling again.

"You might wanna be a little quieter there, Donald. Ah-hyuck! You'll wake Pluto!"

- - -

We finally got up off the beach, in much higher spirits, refreshed and ready to continue with our mission.

"So, Roxas, one more mushroom?"

"Sure, that sounds great!" We trooped steadily back to the other side of the island, having thoroughly exhausted all mushroom supplies here. Once there, Roxas used the power of his nose to find the most likely location of the furtive fungus. He led us back past the waterfalls to where the sunlight could not reach, in a rocky wall with the thinnest possible opening. The Secret Place.

Roxas was the first to carefully enter the crevice, followed by me and then Axel, who kept bumping his head on the rocks that made up the ceiling and cursing under his breath. Soon, the tunnel widened, and even Axel could walk comfortably without the constant worry of being hit in the head by a projecting outcropping of stone.

We ended up in a long, round cave. Axel and I took a seat on a huge, flat tablerock. Roxas knelt in the dirt to pull the mushrooms out, but was soon distracted by some of the drawings on the walls. "Hey, is this supposed to be the ocean?"

"Noooo, that's a picture I drew of a palm tree, Roxas," Axel corrected. He sat down next to Roxas and traced the white chalk outline. "See, there're the leaves, and that's the trunk."

Roxas nodded in comprehension. "I see… you're just a really bad artist, right?"

Axel shoved Roxas forward into the wall. "Well, I don't see any of your masterpieces up in the cavern. Besides, I was just a little kid when Nami'n'me drew them!"

"So… this thing that looks like a crab is really a coconut or something?"

"No, that's a crab…"

"Uh, Roxas… I drew that one." I joined them, squatting down in the soil.

"Oh, I see! So all the good drawings are Mina's and all the ugly ones are Axel's! I get it now!"

"I prefer the term 'abstract art,'" Axel sniffed, turning away and crying a little bit. I leaned over and pulled him into my arms, softly stroking his hair.

"There, there, Axel, it will be all right… Roxas just doesn't realize how much he's hurting you when he says things like that…" I turned to mock-glare at Roxas. "You should really think before you act for once, Roxas. You of all people should know that Axel's a sensitive young boy, and you're certainly not helping matters…"

Roxas looked down regretfully. "Axel…I'm…sorry…" He scooched closer and captured Axel in his own arms. "Are you ever going to be able to forgive me, my beloved?"

Axel snuggled against Roxas, murmuring, "Hold me close and never again call me your beloved, and we'll be even."

Roxas tolerated this for a while as he considered the rest of the scribbles. Once he had analyzed every single line and dot five times over and Axel had not relinquished one bit of his grip on Roxas, he hit lightly at Axel's shoulder. "Hey, you gonna be letting go of me anytime soon?"

"Not unless you can come up with something that would be more fun for me than holding my true love in my arms…"

"And with that, Axel, we're officially even. Now get off me! Roxas was finally able to disentangle Axel's tenacious grip and shoved him off to the side, away from me.

Axel moped. "Hey, Naminé, can you hug me? I feel unloved again…"

Roxas ignored him. "Hey, Naminé, can we draw some more? I feel unincluded again…"

I snickered a bit at the way he had almost perfectly echoed Axel, despite the fact that he was apparently not paying any attention to him at all. "What do you want to draw?"

"I could draw…you, Mina! Then you could draw Axel and he could draw me!"

"Okay! You should have just suggested that earlier, and I would have gotten off of you right away, saving both time and my aching head… You do realize that you banged me into a big ol' rock, right?"

Unfortunately for Axel, Roxas was completely focused on me teaching him how to draw using a rock.

Axel shrugged with a somewhat exaggerated display of apathy and picked up a rock of his own to begin chiseling an image of his own into the slaty stone. I left Roxas working on the far right side of the wall and squeezed around Axel to take my position on the left part of the wall.

Now then… Axel. I quickly drew an outline of his face before turning to look more closely at it, at his expression, at all the subtle nuances that gave elusive insights into his character.

Here are green eyes, a deeper emerald than any stone could ever hold. They are constantly glowing with humor, but they currently reflect a more serious demeanor as he focuses on the task of drawing Roxas. They are lowered slightly, but alert; I draw them in wide and smiling.

Next is red hair, the color of the sea at sunset, a sign that the ocean will be calm come morning. But it retains none of that serenity, and spikes out all around, chaotic and orderly at the same time. I draw quickly, freely, in a way that is both aesthetically pleasing and utterly reflective of Axel.

Finally is the expression, the features, the contours of his face. Long thin brows and a mouth that smiles regardless of circumstances. Here I pause in my delineation to consider. Axel always smiles, except for when he is acting out for Roxas' or my entertainment. The last time I could remember him ever earnestly frowning and getting angry was back before Roxas ever arrived on the islands. It was when Wakka and Tidus had been teasing Selphie relentlessly, and she was on the verge of tears. Axel had looked up from our game of pick-a-shell and had run over to where they had been "playing." He had placed himself in front of her, as if he could thus protect her from their unkind words, and told them off in such a manner that they, both six at the time, had made for their boats, paddling home to tell their parents about a big bully while never quite understanding that what they had been doing to Selphie had been worse. I smiled, remembering the way things had been back when we were so young and innocent as I traced in the gentle smile, ready to crack wider into a sarcastic smirk or genuine mirth whenever anything happened.

Once I finished with some basic shading and touchups, I backed up to see my work. Axel and Roxas had long since finished and had been watching me for the past minute or so. Axel whistled appreciatively. "Hey, Naminé, nice job! That's pretty much as much like me as you can get with a rock and… another rock."

"Thanks… I think." We stepped back to look at our respective portraits. Axel really had improved quite a lot since our early days of scrawling on the sides of the craggy hollow, and while slightly scribbly and not completely proportional, it was easily recognizable as Roxas, with wide, round eyes and softly drawn hair, with a curving head and a grinning mouth facing out in a flawless front view angle.

Next, I dared to regard Roxas' depiction of me, though I was still reluctant to describe this flat object as being in any way related to me. For a first time drawing, it was quite good. It was facing inwards towards the picture of Roxas, as was my likeness of Axel. The eyes were bright and open, with just a hint of shine to them, though where any light had hit my eyes in this dim room, I couldn't guess. Round, curving shoots of hair fell around its… my eyes, falling approximately to where… _my_ shoulders would be. And I was wearing a hopeful expression, looking ahead to a possibly bright future. I wondered if that was how Roxas saw me, as an eternal optimist.

Finally, I looked to Axel and Roxas for a reaction. "Well… I think that that was a good use of our time…" Roxas bravely commented. Axel and I nodded, and suddenly none of us could meet each other's gaze any longer. We all looked away, our eyes coming to rest on an oblong piece of wood sticking out of the sheer rock wall. It seemed completely out of place, and Roxas went over to look at it.

"It's like a door, but… no handle!"

It was then that a voice came out of the darkness from the tunnel behind us. "This world has been connected."

"Wha-Who's there?" Axel challenged, shifting his gaze around frantically.

"Tied to the darkness. Soon to be completely eclipsed." A figure dressed in a russet cloak that completely disguised his face stepped out from around a boulder.

"Where did you come from?" Roxas asked politely. I was surprised by his nonchalance, given that I could hardly move for surprise and fear.

The tall man ignored Roxas, and simply continued on in his smooth, deep voice. "I came to see the door to this world."

"So you're from another world!" Axel interrupted, eyes shining as he reevaluated the enigma before us.

"There is so much to learn. You understand so little."

"Well, we're going to travel on our raft and figure out what there is out there!" I retorted, nettled by his harsh words.

"What meaningless effort. Those who know nothing can understand nothing…" he scoffed derisively. "You do not even yet know what lies beyond the door."

As one, we turned to face the mysterious wooden barrier. Roxas spun around again. "Oh, yeah, well-! …Wait! He's… gone!"

"Ugh, I think we should get out of here," Axel shivered, looking around cautiously in case any other mysterious person was waiting to jump out, confuse us, and insult us. "This place is seriously giving me the creeps…"

"The creeps? That's a weird expression, Axel. How'd you come up with it?"

As we came back out into the sunlight, Axel explained, "It's like a worm or a big moth caterpillar, right? You know, if you ever put one of those things on your arms, they creep along, and it feels weird? That's why I call it the creeps."

"Put bugs on yourself often, Axel?" Roxas deadpanned. We all laughed rather harder than that joke deserved, from the sheer relief of once again finding ourselves in a situation we had control over. We started walking back to the raft, laughing and joking, until I realized something.

"Oh… darn it, guys… we left Roxy's mushrooms back in the cave…" We all sighed collectively. "I'll get 'em… I was the one who remembered…"

"No, I'll get them. I was the one who wanted them n the first place," Roxas piped up, trying to hide the apprehension he clearly felt.

"No, Roxas, Naminé, I'm the one who has to go. I'm the strongest here, so I'll probably do the best against that shadowy figure guy if he shows up again. Besides… there's a little bit of touchup I need to do on my portrait of Roxas," Axel said wearily, already trudging off to the hollow between the rocks.

Roxas and I continued walking, although the mood now seemed much more subdued without the boisterously exuberant Axel to yammer on about nothing in particular to keep our minds off of the day's strange events.

"So… We sail tomorrow, Mina!"

This was a change from the hesitant Roxas I had seen departing the island yesterday. Before I could stop myself, I blurted, "But before you said you didn't want to go! That's why you went with Axel last night, right?" Shocked by my outburst, I quickly covered my mouth with my hands and felt my face begin to redden.

To my surprise, Roxas was blushing too. "Oh… Miné… you weren't supposed to know that…" he whispered, looking down. He straightened his posture and added strength to his voice. "But now I'm ready to go. I'm ready to face my past, and nothing's going to stop me!"

"By which you mean… Axel talked you into it, didn't he?" I guessed, gazing out over the sea.

"No, I-I… Yeah…" There was a long pause before he spoke again. "Naminé… I'm scared. Scared of the trip, scared we won't find anything and just get lost, and scared… that we will find something. And we won't like it. Naminé… I'm happy here. I know I came from another world, but I know nothing else about it. I like our small town. I like knowing everyone. I… mostly what I hate is change."

"Did you try telling that to Axel?"

"No… I guess… I was… afraid. That he wouldn't take me seriously."

"Well, I promise that you don't have to go, Roxas, unless you want to. I'll talk to him for you if you want. We'll wait until you're ready."

"What if… I'm never ready?"

"Then we'll never go." We walked in complete silence to the smaller island, where we took our usual positions on the gnarled old trunk of the paopu tree. Roxas eventually retrieved our fishing poles from a rut beneath the tree, and we cast out into the slow waves.

"We can always use more food, right?" We each caught a fish and Roxas was just hauling a third up when Axel returned, strolling up to us and taking a seat between us.

"More provisions, guys? We're certainly not going to starve on this trip, are we?"

"Yeah, hopefully not…" Roxas and I stowed our rods back beneath the tree and watched the sunset, just as we did every night. "Hey… Axel, Naminé… Will one of you tell me the legend of the paopu fruit?"

Axel and I were slightly taken aback. He recovered first. "Uh… why do you ask, Roxas?" He seemed almost uncharacteristically nervous.

"Umm, Selphie was talking about it… and she said that it was all, like, romantic and stuff. I've never heard the story before, but I know that we sit here on the paopu tree every day, and… yeah."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" We'll be on the raft and we'll have nothing better to do…"

"All right, I'll be waiting!" Roxas smiled, shoving none of the apprehension he had confided in me.

"Then it's a deal. Think we should head home? We will be setting sail tomorrow, right?"

Roxas agreed too quickly. "Right!"

I smiled slightly nervously on Roxas' behalf. "Right, I'll be ready to go. When do you want to meet tomorrow?"

"Maybe, like, 20 degrees? That work for everyone?" We nodded. Axel looked out to the dock. "Hey, what are those guys still doing here?"

We ran down to see Wakka holding up a banner with the words "Good Luck on Your Journey" on it and Tidus standing next to Selphie. Upon our approach, Tidus started a vaguely hula-like dance which Selphie quickly adapted to and followed.

"You guys are leaving, so we're going to say goodbye!" Tidus sang.

"We're saying it by singing, or at least we're going to try!" Selphie continued. It was obvious that they hadn't practiced it and were making it up on the spot, but I still appreciated the sentiment. They were now at the chorus.

"Soon you'll be on your way, in just one more day. The sun is setting, but don't be fretting! Go home and get some rest, for tomorrow will test all the strength and bravery that the three of you possess. Dear friends, farewell, we know you so well, come back soon to tell your tales!" They led each of us to our boats and pushed us out into the ocean. "Goodbye!"

After we were safely away from the singing and dancing trio, Axel and Roxas started sniggering. "What was that about?" Axel asked.

"I dunno, but that Tidus sure was off-key," Roxas observed critically.

"Well, I thought it was sort of nice," I defended, glad that the temporary malice that Tidus had been displaying was gone.

"Yeah, niiiiice," Axel laughed, "if by nice you mean 'creepy' or 'slightly disturbing'…"

"Whatever. Good night, guys…" Roxas turned his boat so that it was pointed directly towards his house on the main island.

"G'night!" To my surprise, Axel didn't turn off in a different direction, but continued to stay beside me.

"Naminé… can I talk to you?"

"What about, Axel?"

"I was just sort of… like, hoping you weren't having any second thoughts about the trip or anything. You… you seemed hesitant before."

"No… I'm perfectly ready to go… but I'm not sure about Roxas. He really doesn't want to go, Axel… At least, that's what I think."

Axel looked down. After a minute or two of steady paddling, he changed the subject. "You and Roxas would go well together. That's what everyone says, anyway… But how do you feel about him?"

"Wh-what? I… Roxas is one of my best friends. But I'm not in love with him, if that's what you're insinuating…"

"Oh, I was just curious. Sorry. I just… You're both my best friends as well, of course…and if something were to come between that… I don't want to have to choose between the two of you."

"… But which of us would you choose?" I didn't want to know the answer, though I had asked the question. I was very relieved when he changed the subject again.

"Nami, I want to tell you why I want to go on this trip. Why I came up with the idea. Why there's nothing I'd rather do, and why I dragged you and Roxas into it."

"I'm listening."

"Remember back before, when we were really young, way before Roxas ever showed up? Our parents would tease us relentlessly and keep asking us when the wedding was going to be. They kept talking about how we were perfect for each other, and how convenient it was that we lived so close together and were only five moths apart in age. We'd be going to the same schools; we'd be able to play with others, but it would always be you and me. Me and you. Axel and Naminé."

I nodded, slightly embarrassed. Axel's face fell slightly, and he continued in a slightly more subdued tone. "And about three years after the jokes had stopped for the most part, and it was a widely accepted fact that I was going to be with you, can you guess what happened? Roxas. He washed up on shore, with no memories of what had happened to him or where he had come from. A few weeks after that, an old woman materialized from absolutely _nowhere_, claiming that Roxas was her grandson and that they had escaped from… well, from another world. The village elders were skeptical, of course, but they had to admit that she was the only one that he would react to in any way, shape, or for. When he had recovered completely, they moved into an abandoned house together. Two months later, she was feeling sick, too ill to get out of bed. So she managed to contact the elders and requested some company for him. And that's how we got involved.

"We remained aloof for the first few days, but by day seven, the three of us were playing together like we'd all been living on the islands forever. Those were a good three, four months we shared. At that point, I was closer to Roxas than you were, us both being curious little boys. And then something happened that made that intimacy irretrievable. You know what that was?" I shook my head again.

"His grandmother died, that's what. And you know exactly what happened? I walked in, and Roxas walked up to me. He said, 'I think… something's wrong with Gramma. She hasn't eaten anything for a l-long time, and she… she h-hasn't woken up yet… and w-when I touched her hand, it was really c-cold… A-Axel?" We trooped valiantly into the room to re-examine the old lady. And eventually it occurred to me that this was Death. I had never seen it before, only heard about it from my parents. And a few milliseconds later, I decided that I didn't like Death. I ran out of the room in absolute _terror_, nearly colliding with you. Roxas said, 'S-s-she's d-dead, isn't she?' and burst into the most utterly heart-wrenching sobs that anyone will ever hear. Ever. And as I crouched behind the door, completely out of sight, you picked him up off of the floor and cradled him in your arms, gently reassuring him that everything would be fine. And for the weeks following the funeral, you two were inseparable. Literally.

"And after that, I started to hear new rumors around town. Tales of the 'Golden Pair.' And now it was you two who would be spending the rest of your lives together, and me who was completely out of the picture.

"But I didn't want that. I wanted my perfect future with you. And the more I got to know Roxas, the more I wanted a future with him as well. But Naminé… I… don't… have… a… future… now." He spoke slowly and calmly, so that I could have no doubt about his words. "Just me and you, I'm fine. Me and Roxas, same deal. But when the three of us are together, I'm always going to be the odd man out. There's no two ways about it.

"And that's why I decided to get out of here. I have to find someplace I won't be left out. Somewhere I belong. You know? Wakka and Lulu are going to be together in the end, I know, and I'm more than positive that Selphie likes Tidus as more than just a friend. And Roxas has you. And he-neither of you need me. I don't want to be alone. I… won't be able to take it. I'll break.

"So I decided to get away. But I realized that I couldn't do it on my own. So I had to have you guys help me out. You're the most responsible person I know, Nam. You're so good at navigation, and at knowing what needs to get done. And Roxas is always ready for an adventure, always looking for a way to somehow prove himself. And that's why I need you guys, why I need Roxas and Naminé, to come on my voyage. Because I can't do it alone… because I never will be able to… and because I'm in love with you both." His voice cracked suddenly, and I gave in to my own maternal urge to comfort him. I could feel the warm, salty tears rolling down my face.

"It'll be fine, Axel… You'll be all right… It will all work out in the end."

Axel wiped my tears away with a gentle hand. "I wish I could believe that as easily as you do." We were on the dock next to my house, and he got back into the boat to start on his way home.

"Good night… and good luck. I'm sorry I won't be able to keep my promise, Roxas," I whispered as I turned my back on the moon-lit sea and walked into my house to get some much-needed sleep.

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Xiana: Well, I hope you liked the third chapter. The next one is even awesome-er.

By the way, I drew a picture of the whole paopu scene thingy. You can check it out at http(colon slash slash)www(dot)deviantart(dot)com(slash)deviation(slash)51338229(slash)

So I hope you guys like it, and I hope you **_review_** too! I don't write for reviews, but constructive criticism and such is greatly appreciated.

...And reviewers get lovely cute Axel plushies!


	5. Night of Fate

_**Kingdom Hearts: Reflection**_

Summary: What if Naminé, Axel, and Roxas were on the Destiny Islands instead of Sora, Riku, and Kairi?

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Sora would not be a big ol' Nobody-killing _jerk_ like he was in Kingdom Hearts 2. We would all learn to coexist peacefully in the natural environment.

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Xiana: Chapter 4. This one's intense. XD

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**Night of Fate**

The sea was the color of ink that a squid emits in fear, before the fluid is diluted within the vast ocean. Above, the clouds were feathered like a rare black albatross floating home in the time of new growth. A storm. The first dark masses had begun rumbling over the horizon shortly after I had arrived home, and I had been watching the procession of continually rolling clouds from my window ever since.

The lightning flashed, striking the sea with a crash. I could feel the electricity humming through the air, tingling in my toes and fingertips, and lifting the hair at the nape of my neck with a snap of static.

The wind picked up, rushing at our fragile house and threatening to batter it to scattered debris, howling a chilling hymn of destruction. I felt suddenly secure, knowing that our home had weathered storms much worse than this one, and would continue to stand despite the force of the elements continually waging war against our slim shelter.

I was thankful to have such a sanctuary, but my thoughts were suddenly redirected. The raft! It was tied down only loosely, and if it broke free of its bindings, all our work would have gone completely to waste. We would have lost our raft, and with it, the will to perservere.

"Nami, time for dinner!"

"I'll be right there, mom!" But I wouldn't be right there. I was going to the island, going to protect the raft, going to protect Axel's dream for the future. His words had penetrated the layer of my heart that truly wanted to believe that everything would eventually work out, and allowed me to see a bleak future. A bleak future lacking any semblance of hope. I had been thinking about this while I watched the storm build. I had been thinking about Axel's dilemma. I had been thinking about what would happen to me, and what I would feel if Roxas ever chose Axel over me. Though I certainly wasn't worried about that occurring any time soon, I couldn't help but feel sad and a little hopeless.

I eased the window open and stepped out onto the deck. I was going to save the raft. I was going to save my future. I slid down to the ground and ran to my boat. It was dangerous to sail in a storm, but to me, it was far more imperative that I save the raft.

Bulging raindrops splashed overhead, soaking into my clothing and obscuring my vision. I struggled to navigate, and was only aware of coming to the shore when the prow of the little dinghy dragged into the silt on the coast of the island. I got it up on the beach and collapsed from the strength of the wind against me. The stinging rainwater filled my mouth and pooled around my eyes, trickling into my nose and slowly drowning me. The torrential downpour slaked off and then stopped altogether. I sat up and coughed the water out of my lungs violently before standing and attempting to dry myself off. Leaving my boat where it was for the moment, I jogged slowly over to the jetty, intending to run up the slope to get to the other side of the island where the raft was docked.

I stopped short when I saw two rowboats, nearly the same as mine in both color and form, moored neatly to the little quay. Roxas' and Axel's boats were here. I was relieved, for surely they would have also been aware of the danger the heavy cloudburst had posed to the raft. They would most certainly restrain the raft, and we would be able to set out on our voyage tomorrow morning just as planned. I knew it to be so. There was no possible alternative.

_And then I turned around._

The overcast sky was beginning to clear, but it seemed as if a few small black droplets of rain were still falling from above. Curiously, the longer I watched, the more it appeared that the jet-black globules were falling from the same point into the same oily puddle, which somehow remained separate, and refused to diffuse into the rest of the drenched wood. After what seemed like an eternity of me staring in rapt fascination at the continual stream of ebony water, unable to look away from the spectacle or even to blink, the slow trickle of obsidian water stopped, just as suddenly as I had noticed it. I approached the eerie pool slowly, but jumped back in horrified disgust when the beastly pond began to boil and churn like a whirlpool created by an unseen ocean current. _And it only got worse._

Soon a curved and grotesque limb poked itself out of the swirling mass of darkness. It was followed by another, and then two more. Now a head with sneaky antennae and citrine fire in place of eyes separated itself from the abstract conglomeration of darkness. A black monster had risen from the familiar landscape of the island.

I scanned my surroundings quickly. My heart was pounding with fear and adrenaline was beginning to course through my veins. More shadow creatures were rising all around.

_My only thought was that this all seemed very familiar._

The rest of my body was acting completely on instinct. I found myself rushing the first creature, sword in hand. I beat at it viciously, but it was only stunned temporarily, and staggered just a few hands' lengths backwards before flattening its body low to the ground and creeping around behind me. I jumped forward, intending to dodge the attack I knew would follow, but the fiend was too quick for me and rose from the ground again, reaching out with thin, sharp claws to score the flesh of my unprotected calves. Caught mid-leap, I cried out and fell clumsily to the wooden structure below, rolling off to land in the water. I hurriedly got to my feet, searching for a means of escape. My weapons were completely ineffective. Access to my boat was completely restricted by dark demos. Axel and Roxas were here on the island, but they were likely in the same predicament as I was and would not be able to help. There was no convenient exit, no savior waiting for the most opportune and dramatic moment to miraculously appear and save me.

I ran for the relative shelter presented to me by the seaside shack. I rattled the doorknob hopelessly before finally giving up. Locked? It had never been locked before!

"_Naminé!"_

I flicked my eyes to the waterfalls, from which the voice seemed to be issuing. "…Roxas? Is that you?" The knob in my hand jittered slightly, and to my astonishment, now appeared to be unlocked.

I quickly got over my shock and dashed inside, slamming the door and barring it with a long plank and my own body. The invading monsters seemed to be bodily hurling themselves at the door in some twisted attempt to continue their hunt for me. I was sure that the door would hold fast, and I hoped vehemently that newsun would hasten to drive away the dark nightmares. Unfortunately, I recalled that the moon had not even reached the height of its orbit. A very long night was in store for me.

I prayed that Axel and Roxas had managed to take their boats and leave the island. Nowhere on the island would be as safe as this hut was, and I was not willing to open the door without solid evidence that either of the two was standing directly outside. I had decided that I must have been imagining having heard Roxas' voice earlier, and that I had been in such a panic that I hadn't really been turning the knob before. Fear brings on hallucinations, and I was more terrified in this moment than I had ever been during the fourteen seasons, five moons that I had been alive.

I took a few moments to relax. I felt safe and sincerely believed that I would survive until the morning. Even the pounding of the brutes outside seemed to have stopped, and I was far too careless to even consider that they might be planning something a bit more sinister. So overconfident grew I that I decided to move the plank that had obstructed their path and protected me. I cracked the door open to peer out cautiously, wondering if there was any way I could get back to my boat and escape my watery prison. I opened the door wider, carefully, so that I could see out. There was no sign of the herd that had threatened me, but four or five vermin were still patrolling my vessel. I wouldn't be leaving yet. I cautiously re-shut the door and barred it again. I leaned back against the entrance with a sigh and closed my eyes.

They flashed back open and I screamed. In my haste to leave this island of horrors, I had completely disregarded what I already knew about these things. When I had opened the door, I had been so concerned with the status of my craft that I had completely forgotten to look down. The black beings had slipped in under me in their flat forms, and I had not noticed them until I had already gated my only means of escape behind me. And now, these frights were once again rising from the ground, advancing in the same menacing way that they had previously.

The first leaped at me, and I screamed again as I felt its biting talons slice through the loose fabric of my shirt to gash my arm, causing a thin trail of blood to spurt out. This only served to further excite the creatures, and they all dove at me, slashing and gnawing at my exposed skin. I continued screaming until my voice was nearly gone, though I knew that it wouldn't do me any good. I knew I had to flee or die, so I managed to slam a few of my pursuers against the wall and tore off down the stairs. I threw the door open, no longer worried about any kind of subtlety, and rammed it shut with my shoulder before running to the smaller island. This was where I'd make my last stand, and if I was to die tonight, I'd die fighting. My resolve sank at this thought, but as I looked ahead, I saw what appeared to me to be a miracle.

"Axel!" I shrieked hoarsely, dashing still faster to the little isle. "Axel! Oh, Axel, I was terrified! The horrible monsters-they attacked-I tried to-but now…" The adrenaline rush that had kept me alive faded, and all the fear and fatigue suddenly caught up with me. I felt my conflicting emotions expand until they overwhelmed me in a gush of tears. I clung pathetically to Axel, bawling like a baby. He wrapped an arm around me comfortingly.

"Shh, shh, there, there, it's okay, Nami. I'm here for you now." He began rocking me slowly back and forth, and I succumbed to his insistent calming.

"I-I-I was so-so scared… b-but it's… it's all r-right now, right? B-because you-you're here…" 

"Naminé… now the worlds are all connected. It's just as that man said before. Now we'll be able to leave the islands! I don't think we need to fear the darkness, Naminé. If we learn how to control it, there'll be nothing to worry about!"

I shrank back. "Control… the darkness? Wh-what are you talking about? Shouldn't we be… Wait! Where's Roxas?"

Axel shrugged. "I'm sure he's coming with us, if he hasn't already left."

"Axel…" I stared at him, unable to believe what I was hearing. "Axel…I-I almost died back there! And you're so confident that Roxas will be fine? What's wrong wit you? Come on! We have to find Roxas!"

"No, Naminé. I'm not going to find him. Either he comes, or he gets left behind. I'm going, Naminé. I'm going now. I'm going ahead to my future, and if you'd rather stay here and lose your life, that's your prerogative!" A huge portal of darkness opened behind him, and he stepped partially through, holding a hand out to me. "Well, Naminé? The choice is yours."

I hesitated. The thought of going to another world with Axel was certainly tempting, and surely anything was better than being left to die here alone on the island of my childhood. He had made my options clear. I knew what I had to do. I took a deep breath…

…and slapped his hand away. "Go ahead and abandon your friend! I know what's most important right now, and that's finding Roxas and staying alive!"

Axel smiled almost sadly. "Yeah, I understand, Naminé. I guess I never really did have a place in your heart, did I? If you're set on remaining here, you might check the Secret Place. He might be there." His expression changed into his usual, mocking grin, and he turned away to disappear into the darkness. Before he vanished, I could have sworn that I heard him whisper, "I hope we… see each other again… find Roxas, and take care of him." And then the darkness closed around him, and he was lost to me.

- - -

The monsters were somehow unable to come onto the island of the paopu tree, and it was here that I stayed for some time, binding my wounds and attempting to rationalize the situation. The shadow creatures had broken down the upper door of the shack, and prowled restlessly along the wooden bridge, waiting for me to move. I looked furtively towards the Secret Place, hoping they wouldn't correctly interpret my subtle glance and foil my plan. To my complete shock, what was once a narrow cave opening was now a huge silver door, with thin glass windows and a complex, swirling knocker in the shape of what seemed to be a dog, with alert ears, vicious canines, and wild eyes. In comparison, the actual knob was quite plain. I focused my eyes upwards, looking deliberately at the smaller buildings in the tree, making sure that the creatures noticed. They shifted covertly; ready to snare me in some sort of ambush should I attempt to run for the tree. Gritting my teeth in preparation, I focused on my plan, and tried hard not to think about what would happen to me if that door was locked.

I backed up a step or two before running forward as rapidly as possible, leaping off the island and sprinting in the direction of the tree. They moved to intercept me, but I shifted in direction and was soon directly in front of the door. I twisted the handle, and it swung open seamlessly, allowing me to enter. I quickly took advantage of this and rushed forward. Once I was safely within, it slammed shut with a metallic clang that echoed throughout the chamber and bounced back with a sound not unlike that of a huge, deep bell. After the ringing tone had finally stopped resounding, a small click, like that of a lock sliding into place, was barely audible. A smoothly gliding gust of wind blew in from where the door was, though this was of course physically impossible. It urged me forward, but I was loath to obey. It hissed slightly before returning with enough power to sweep me off of my feet and waft me through to the center of the cave, taking care not to let me hit the walls or the ceiling. None of this gentleness was evident when it threw me unceremoniously into the smooth rock and faded from existence.

I slid to the earth below me, gratefully inhaling the familiar scent of the moist soil. For now, I knew I was safe, and this time, I was going to stay within my haven. I sat up, dusting the dirt off of my arms, and happened to catch sight of a picture on the rock directly above and to the left of me. It had to be an image from my childhood, but I couldn't ever remember drawing it, and Axel certainly hadn't had the skills to create a work of art such as this. It was a door, like the one I had just run through, but it seemed larger and more… majestic. It was almost closed, but from the small opening, immense light radiated out. Despite the fact that it had been created by very coarse tools, it was so brilliant and utterly beautiful that it nearly brought a tear to my eye.

_When did I draw this?_

I looked down and away, and focused instead on the wall directly in front of me. It was the portraits that we had drawn this afternoon, but with one addition. A star-like figure was drawn in directly below the Roxas-figure's head. There was a strange mark on the left side, and when I viewed it, it became readily apparent that it was a hand. When he had returned to the cove for Roxas' mushrooms, Axel must have drawn in the paopu fruit, with a hand offering it to us.

I let my fingers play lightly over the rough indentations in the stone, touching the marks that Axel had patiently carved in before choosing a tool of my own and painstakingly repeating the process, with a hand drawn from the empty space below my likeness grasping the empty outline of the little star. I sat back and gazed happily at the new sketch, dropping my rock paintbrush in the dirt.

I relaxed, and I probably would have been able to rest and recuperate here in the Secret Place had it not been for the sudden collapse of a boulder in the roof. It crashed into the center of the cave, revealing the silvery lunar glow of a waning third-quarter moon. The room was illuminated, and all the cave "paintings" seemed to shimmer strangely with light not truly of this world. I shivered.

"Naminé?" The voice was quivery, but unmistakably Roxas'.

"Roxas?" And there he was, standing directly beside the wooden obstruction that had so intrigued us- and the mysterious man- before.

"Nami-né. The door is the key. You… must go through." With every word he spoke, he sounded less like Roxas and more like some kind of possessed puppet. I immediately went over to him, but when I attempted to lay an arm casually on his shoulder, it went directly through him! He slowly began fading out of sight, as did the wooden… door? I grabbed at Roxas again to no avail, but in another moment, he was gone, as if he had never been there. But then again, perhaps he hadn't even been there at all, had he? Fear had brought on hallucinations before. Perhaps this was no different.

But there was certainly no denying the fact that the rock wall in front of me opened up to a new room that I knew had never existed before now.

The strong wind from before returned as a gentle breeze, once again pressing me to move ahead. This time I complied eagerly, my sense of adventure ironically restored by my vision and loss of Roxas.

The path ahead twisted and turned in all directions, leading me past many fantastic sights. I glimpsed a cave full of green, phosphorescent crystals which pulsed steadily. Another chamber was darker than the sky on the night of an eclipse, save for a few little pinpricks of light that glistened like little representations of stars. One little alcove in the wall was filled with huge stalactites, cold to the touch. When I touched one, the tip broke off. I caught it and held on to it, but within seconds, it had formed water in my hand. I shook it away, wondering about this strange phenomenon.

Before I could investigate any of this further, the wind billowed up and forced me back on the path it clearly wanted me to follow. I climbed through the cave for what seemed like an eternity, but I was finally allowed to rest by a huge pool of water. The wind had apparently determined that nothing here would cause any harm to me. I sat down by the reflective surface of the subterranean lake, transfixed by what I saw there. Miniscule fish, bleached as white as a bone, swam blindly, relying on their long, drooping whiskers to guide them through the water and successfully find prey. Kelp fronds glowed steadily in the manner of the crystal I had seen earlier. This small lake seemed to contain an entire ecosystem so fascinating that I could have spent moons observing the seaweed alone.

But the breeze that was my guide would have none of this. After the requisite rest, and after granting me a perfunctory glimpse of the life in the area, it billowed up behind me and forced me to continue my journey.

I walked forward through another eternal night, slightly regretting my eagerness to come through this way earlier, although I knew that in all probability, the wind would have gusted me through anyway. After all, I didn't really have an option. Whenever my pace slowed, a thin stream of wind raced by to hurry me along. If I sat down with an air of concession and defiance, a force like that of a gale would sweep me back onto my feet and press me into going wherever it wanted me to go.

At the top of a steep incline, I finally saw light pouring in from around the corner. I rushed forward gratefully, appreciating that I was no longer confined within that endless dark labyrinth. I had to wait for my eyes to readjust to the unexpected brightness, but as soon as I was able to, I rushed forward to be greeted by the sight of a wide, open plain. The moon hung almost uncomfortably in the sky above, and I realized with a start that it was in almost the same position it had been in before I had entered the Secret Place. _Did it mean that time had stopped for me? For my world?_

I was walking doubtfully to the center of the plain when I heard an immense crack. The ground shuddered and began to move… to move upwards. The plateau had separated itself from the rest of the land, and as I scrambled to the edge, I realized in horrified awe that I could see the rest of our islands all around from a birds-eye view. There was Lulu's island, with its solitary occupant's lonely hut. There was the larger, main island that I lived on, as did Roxas, Axel, and Tidus. I could even spot my house, with its trademark blue roof, unlike any others around. And there was our play island, now engulfed in shadow, nearly indistinguishable from the choppy seas surrounding it.

I returned to the center. After a lengthy period of time spent wondering what could possibly be happening, I flopped to the sands to stare up at the unwavering moon. It appeared as if there was some sort of blight upon it, some sort of disfigured darkness that seemed to blacken and spread the longer I looked at it. I blinked, and it no longer respected the smooth circle of the moon, it was taking all the light from even the stars, it… was getting… closer?

I rolled away with a muffled grunt as a huge black monster levitated onto my hovering oasis. It landed with a crash that set off a minor earthquake similar to that which had separated this land from the continent, but we remained airborne and almost completely stationary after the vibrations had died away. It stood there. And then turned its gaze on me curiously.

Which is when something inside of me snapped. This behemoth had to be in charge of the littler creatures, and those had attempted to hunt me down and murder me. They had also taken Axel and Roxas away from me, which was almost worse, since I had survived their vicious onslaught. And they were the ones who had forced me to seek refuge in the Secret Place, which had led to that obnoxious wind pressing me forward into this unknown location, which had separated from the earth and alienated me from everything. And it was this demon that would pay for wronging me.

I ran at the leviathan, clutching my useless sword in a clenched fist. Cold fury blazed tightly in my chest, spreading to engulf even my rational brain with overbearing malice. I shouted some inane battle cry and began slashing away at the pitchy fiend.

Irked by my nearly imperceptible irritation, the monster stretched out a hand and pinned me to the ground. My sword went skittering out of reach and off the side of the cliff, but it didn't matter. It hadn't been able to do any damage, and it had just made the thing annoyed at me.

My rage dissipated with the same alarming velocity that it had come with, and I was once again able to think logically. This, I reflected, was where losing your temper got you. Trapped beneath the hand of a shadow demon with no weapon or means of escape. The beast raised its other arm and began to collect dark energy in its hand, forming a massive, glowing ball of sheer, evil darkness. It started moving downwards, ready to crush me.

A nearly indiscernible ray of light hit the area before vanishing and letting the night regain control.

Some impulse told me to raise my right arm, as hard and as fast as I could. Having much little else to do, I obeyed. Something in my hand sliced through the dark skin of the creature in the way that a seagull cuts through the shell of a crab: simply and effortlessly. The colossal titan shrieked a piercing scream, clutching at its hand, which didn't seem to have quite the number of fingers it once did. The ball of darkness neither disappeared nor continued downwards to strike me, but floated into the sky, blocking the moon like some ominous portent. The blade I now realized that I held shone blindingly with all the light and heat of the sun, causing both the demon creature and me to wince from the burning phenomenon.

I recovered quicker, and while it was still distracted by the light and its pain, I ran behind it, searching for a weakness. The chest was the first and most immediately obvious target, but there was a large hole, seemingly removed directly from its body, in the shape of a heart. That meant that the head was next. Keeping a tight grip on my new weapon, which rather resembled the giant key used to unlock the schoolhouse, I began to ascend the monster's legs. It clawed sightlessly at me, but I deflected the blows and kept climbing. When I had reached its neck, I found my balance and struck at its head. It roared in pain and quaked violently, sending me crashing to the earth below. I landed relatively nimbly and raced for cover behind one of the few low-lying bushes scattered around the area.

Still squalling in pain, the monster lifted off the ground, floating into the sphere of darkness. The instant that the tip of an antenna touched it, a funnel of air formed and began pulling everything away from the surface. The immense sucking power broadened its range to sweep over the entire ocean, pulling up every loose particle from the surrounding islands.

I clung grimly to the little shrub. Its roots held tenaciously into the ground, sticking into the scrubby earth determinedly, but I could feel it losing its tight grip. Debris was flying all around, and I could almost recognize some of it. Could that be one of Wakka's blitzballs? Was that the wooden sword I had lost a few minutes ago? Something else caught my eye, and my heart sank, skipping a beat in terror and panic. A blue roofing tile. My home was being destroyed.

"NOOOOOOO!" I screamed, finally losing my grip. I was caught within the whirlwind of lost objects, all of which seemed to be taunting me as we spiraled up, getting closer to the dark energy. And then it loomed before me, embracing me and drawing me in with cold tendrils. I stared into it fearfully, but some wooden plank hit me on the head and I fell unconscious, unknowingly allowing the dark vortex to transport me to another world.

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Xiana: Wow, it sure seems like this chapter was dark… I mean, I'm pretty sure Sora didn't get beaten up quite this much… But I like adding stuff, so I'll continue to make additions to the original game.

Next chapter is Traverse Town. There will be Heartless, and Disney characters, and **Leon**, because he's… just really funny to me.

Darkside Plushies for reviewers! They're cuddlier than they seem! (Holds plushie up enticingly)


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